Even Jimmy Carter thinks Obama 'waited too long' to act against ISIS


Former president Jimmy Carter doesn't exactly approve of President Obama's handling of the situation in the Middle East, reported the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas, in an interview published Tuesday. Carter, whose foreign policy legacy is perhaps most marked by the bungled Iran hostage crisis, said that Obama's Mideast strategy wavers too much and specifically criticized the president's response to the ISIS threat.
"First of all, we waited too long," Carter told the Star-Telegram. "We let the Islamic State build up its money, capability, and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria. Then when [ISIS] moved into Iraq, the Sunni Muslims didn't object to their being there."
Instead, Carter suggested, Obama should have taken action earlier. He also noted that two of Obama's former secretaries of defense have criticized the president's foreign policy since leaving the administration. Carter did say, however, that Obama's current plan of U.S.-led airstrikes against the militant group shows a "possibility of success" — but only if ground troops are deployed to follow up the strikes, something Obama has repeatedly promised would not be the case.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carter also discussed America's use of drone strikes, the Ebola crisis, and the global treatment of women, which he called the "worst human rights violation on Earth right now." Read more from his interview with the Star-Telegram here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91
Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle